Will It Be Okay Tomorrow?
“Is it going to be OK, Daddy?” My four year-old daughter was asking me the question after one of the most terrifying ordeals of her young life. She had fallen, slamming her forehead on the edge of our fireplace and opening a gash that had us speeding to the emergency room for stitches. There was panic and screams and tears. To say nothing of what she was doing.
Later that night at the table, she gingerly tapped at her Sesame Street bandage and asked me that question.
She wanted to know about tomorrow, and the next day and the next. Would this wound heal? Would the pain go away? Was there more of this in her future?
I think about that day when I read another question that Jesus’ disciples posed to him one evening when they were, no doubt, starting to worry about tomorrow.
It had been a particularly contentious day for them, I think. They had watched another confrontation between their Lord and the religious leaders in the temple. As a matter of fact as he left the temple with them, Jesus turned and looked at the edifice and, essentially said, “If you think today’s events were scary, this marvelous temple will itself be destroyed, laid to rubble…” I’m sure things were strangely quiet as He then made his way with his friends to the Mount of Olives to rest outside the city.
And that’s when they asked him the question: "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3a).
When is all this going to happen? What does the future hold? Is it going to OK?
"When is all this going to happen? What does the future hold? Is it going to be OK?”
They wondered and, I think, hoped.
Jesus’ answer to their question has become known as The Olivet Discourse. You can find it in Matthew 24 and 25 but it’s also part of Mark 13 and Luke 21. It’s Jesus’ most concentrated teaching about what’s to come and it is, therefore, a very important text, particularly for the days in which we’re living.
Do you think about the times we’re in and the future they portend when Brad writes eloquently elsewhere in this newsletter about the earthquake in Haiti and what that all means? Do you see international discord and domestic political mismanagement and acrimony and wonder about tomorrow? Think about His coming? Do these days make you long for those days?
I have often been frustrated when I read or hear those whose focus seems too future-oriented, too concerned with prophetic trends and putting the apocalyptic pieces together. I have a vivid memory of a man in a church I attended years ago who was fascinated by Biblical prophecy. He had legal pads filled with notes about Daniel and Ezekiel and Hal Lindsay.
So it was painful for me when I learned that he later admitted to having cheated on his family and eventually turned his back on the Lord. It made me wary about a hyper interest in the future.
Yet, it would be a mistake to ignore the fact that about 25% of Biblical text is future oriented and it would be especially dangerous to ignore Jesus’ answer to His disciples’ questions in Matthew 24. So it has had my interest and study for the last few months, especially as I’ve spent time teaching about the Biblical Future for our church’s men’s prayer group.
So they asked him – tell us about the future.
I wonder what you expect His answer to be. Will he talk about the rapture or the antichrist? Armageddon or Israel? The Tribulation or the new world order?
He talks about you. And me.
"Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.”
The first words out of the Lord’s mouth in answer to this all-important question: “Watch out.” Pay attention. Be on alert. Don’t get lazy.
For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:5-8 NIV)
You know what scares me most about those hard words from the Lord? “…Will deceive many…” Will. Deceive. Many. That begs for my attention, cries for me to want to do all that I have to do so that I am not deceive-able, so that my eyes don’t wander from my Lord’s face. My guess is that you feel the same way.
It’s important to remember that Jesus issued this warning to his closest disciples, sitting at his feet on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. They were to watch out, they were to be alert. So they, presumably, wouldn’t be among the “many.”
So I’ve been thinking lately about what Deceivability Insurance looks like. What is it I should be doing to “watch out.” I’d suggest there are a few things.
I must be practicing my drawing near (James 4:8), deepening my understanding of His Word (Ps 119:11), blessing my church and pastor (Heb 13:7-9a), and pursuing the teaching of truth from people I trust. That’s one reason I think Brad’s teaching and ministry are so important and one reason I call him friend.
I don’t know when the Lord’s return will be, nor do you. I don’t know if there is a direct connection between what we see today and the last day. But I know the day is coming and Jesus told me something about it that I must own. And so I watch.
The future is a funny place. Is it going to be OK? Yes, if Jesus is in it.
Dr. Brian Charette serves as Assistant Vice President for HR, Training, & Performance at James Madison University and is a long-time member of Harrisonburg First Church of the Nazarene in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Brian’s undergraduate degree is in Management, his Master’s Degree is in Theology and his Doctorate is in leadership development. Brian and his wife live with their two daughters in Rockingham County, Virginia.